Tedford victim of his own success at Cal

Updated 10:47 pm, Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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Berkeley head football coach Jeff Tedford answered a reporters question. Coaches and key players of three Bay Area college football teams: California, Stanford and San Jose State gathered at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, Calif to talk about their upcoming season Monday July 30, 2012. less

Berkeley head football coach Jeff Tedford answered a reporters question. Coaches and key players of three Bay Area college football teams: California, Stanford and San Jose State gathered at the Hotel Nikko in ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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Jeff Tedford built a winner very quickly at Cal, but by the time the 2012 season started, the Bears were on a downward spiral.

Jeff Tedford built a winner very quickly at Cal, but by the time the 2012 season started, the Bears were on a downward spiral.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Tedford celebrates Cal's win in the 2003 Big Game with Geoff McArthur. The Bears' reputation went skyward the next year.

Tedford celebrates Cal's win in the 2003 Big Game with Geoff McArthur. The Bears' reputation went skyward the next year.

Photo: Kurt Rogers, SFC

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Tedford's success led to the renovation of Memorial Stadium, completed in time for Cal's opener with Nevada on Sept. 1.

Tedford's success led to the renovation of Memorial Stadium, completed in time for Cal's opener with Nevada on Sept. 1.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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University of California, Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour holds a press conference, to announce the dismissal of the football's head coach Jeff Tedford, in Berkeley, Ca. on Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012. Jeff Tedford who has overseen the Golden Bears football program for the past 11 seasons, has been relieved of his duties as head coach at the UNiversity of California.

University of California, Director of Athletics Sandy Barbour holds a press conference, to announce the dismissal of the football's head coach Jeff Tedford, in Berkeley, Ca. on Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012. Jeff

University of California football player linebacker, Nick Forbes comments on the dismissal of head coach Jeff Tedford in Berkeley, Ca. on Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012. Jeff Tedford who has overseen the Golden Bears football program for the past 11 seasons, has been relieved of his duties as head coach at the University of California.

University of California football player linebacker, Nick Forbes comments on the dismissal of head coach Jeff Tedford in Berkeley, Ca. on Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012. Jeff Tedford who has overseen the Golden Bears

University of California football player offensive guard Jordan Rigsbee comments on the dismissal of head coach Jeff Tedford in Berkeley, Ca. on Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012. Jeff Tedford who has overseen the Golden Bears football program for the past 11 seasons, has been relieved of his duties as head coach at the UNiversity of California.

University of California football player offensive guard Jordan Rigsbee comments on the dismissal of head coach Jeff Tedford in Berkeley, Ca. on Tuesday Nov. 20, 2012. Jeff Tedford who has overseen the Golden

Berkeley head coach Jeff Tedford on the sidelines as the California Bears lose to the University of Nevada 31-24 at the newly renovated Memorial Stadium on Saturday September 1, 2012, in Berkeley, Calif.

Berkeley head coach Jeff Tedford on the sidelines as the California Bears lose to the University of Nevada 31-24 at the newly renovated Memorial Stadium on Saturday September 1, 2012, in Berkeley, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Tedford victim of his own success at Cal

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Jeff Tedford reshaped the standards in the University of California's football program. He took a team with a long, sad history of losing and lifted it to dizzying heights, twice winning 10 games in a season and even flirting with the school's first Rose Bowl berth since 1959.

Those new standards cost Tedford his job.

Tuesday's announcement that he had been fired as Cal's head coach came as absolutely no surprise. He lost his golden touch the past three seasons, and that's no longer tolerable for an athletic department fresh off a $321 million renovation of Memorial Stadium and a sparkling, $153 million athletic training facility next door.

Tedford made those projects possible. And those projects leave Cal with little patience for losing on the football field.

The question for decades in Berkeley was this: Can one of the nation's premier public universities also succeed in the world of big-time college football? Cal fans always liked to think it was possible, but they had little real-world evidence until Tedford arrived.

He won often and with integrity, sending expectations soaring into another realm. So when he stopped winning - and many players stopped graduating - athletic director Sandy Barbour reluctantly sent him trudging out the door.

"Jeff has proven it can be done," Barbour said after Tuesday's news conference in Berkeley. "I think that's his biggest contribution to Cal. The success he helped create got the facilities done, and that's a huge piece for us."

Those facilities reflect the larger, out-of-control world of 21st century college athletics. Tedford argued he needed such modern amenities to compete against other Pacific-12 Conference schools in recruiting, the lifeblood of any major-college football program. He was right, of course.

Now another coach will inherit those facilities.

Tedford won for many years while playing home games in one of the most antiquated (if picturesque) stadiums around, a 1923 relic built to honor World War I soldiers. He took over after Cal went 1-10 under Tom Holmoe in 2001 - and, astonishingly, the Bears went 10-1 in Tedford's third season and lost out on a Rose Bowl berth only because of Texas coach Mack Brown's unseemly politicking.

Coach's heyday

Cal won eight games in 2005 and 10 again in '06, when it earned a share of the conference championship. The Bears churned out future NFL standouts, from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

That was Tedford's heyday, a prosperous period that built enough momentum for the new training facility and stadium renovation - but also made fans think the Bears could tangle with mighty USC every year.

"I think I speak on behalf of a lot of former players and alums: We're indebted to Jeff for the way he's raised the expectations of the football program," said Gary Hein, an East Bay attorney who played defensive back at Cal in the 1980s. "To a large degree, he's a victim of his own success."

Tuesday's news stirred mixed feelings for many Cal alums and fans. Tedford was not the most charismatic figure around, by any stretch, but he always conducted himself with class - and he made fall Saturdays at Memorial Stadium matter again, after years of raging irrelevance.

Still, he went 15-22 the past three seasons and couldn't develop a quarterback remotely resembling Rodgers. The final straw might have been the recent report showing Cal's graduation rate for football players at 48 percent, lowest in the Pac-12.

Financial realities

So now the school moves forward in a bind of its own making, needing to find the right coach to re-energize its program and pay off its bills. Attendance slipped this season, as Tedford's final team staggered to a 3-9 finish, and sales of premium seat fees - counted on to pay down the renovation debt - are lagging.

Those financial realities no doubt factored heavily into the decision to fire Tedford. They were enough for Cal to swallow the final three years of his contract, at an expected cost of $6.9 million, though Barbour said no state money or student fees will be used. (Most of Tedford's annual salary of $2.3 million was covered by private donors.)

"Let's make no mistake: We have ambitious goals for Cal football," Barbour said. "The chancellor talks about competitive excellence, and our contribution is winning. Winning is what we intend to do - in the broadest sense, competing for conference and national championships and also academically."

Tedford pulled it off for a few years. It will be difficult to duplicate.

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